HOW TO HAVE A COHESIVE INSTAGRAM THEME

I get asked so many questions about my instagram, from the filters, editing and style of my overall feed. To be honest, I’ve used the same editing process for the last year and the same four filters. It varies from picture to picture and also how you actually take the photo – but I wanted to share some tips on how to have a cohesive feed and some feeds I personally love for reference.

My feed is pretty neutral, sticking to black, white, gray, tan and marble. I like my photos to look clean and I generally stick to the same types of photos and use flatlay images, architecture and fabrics to tie the pictures together.

The reason this is something I wanted to share is because when you first click on a new profile, what you immediately see is an overall feed – so if this is visually appealing, more likely you’ll hit follow on a new account. I think as a blogger or digital influencer, this is really important to show who you are as a brand so when someone is looking to collaborate with you, they know exactly what they are going to get. But wether you are doing this as a career or just for fun, some of the tips should help your feed look good in no time.

BE PICKY

Don’t just post any image. If its grainy, blurry or not looking 100% use some restraint and try not to post it. For photos that aren’t up to par, I share them on Facebook or Twitter and also gives my followers there some unique content to see that they wouldn’t find on other platforms. This will help your feed look quality and clean.

FIND INSPIRATION

What kind of photos do you like to take? What kind of photos do you like to see? There are so many types of feeds out there from minimal, colorful and bright or desaturated/muted. Here are a few of my favorites. You can find bright and airy with pops of color. Or muted tons that err on the darker side. Or bright and colorful with high contrast.

TAKING THE PHOTO

Now that you’ve found a type of feed that you like, keep this in mind before taking the photo. If you found a feed that is light and airy, keep your photos in natural light and use white backgrounds, walls or clothes to create an overall feed. Thinking of your feed before taking the photo, helps you when you decide to post a picture because you know that it has your style rules in mind.

For me, I know that I don’t like blues, greens from grass, or people in my photos. So when taking my pictures – I will keep searching for the perfect spot so that it fits within the style rules I set for myself. So instead of hoping the photo will fit, I already know that it will ahead of time.

To keep the photos consistent, I always take them the same way before filtering and editing them so that the end result will always look similar. I only post photos that are taken in natural light and I never use flash, so that overall my photos all have the same feel.

Give yourself a set of style rules for your photos and keep this in mind BEFORE taking your photo and this will instantly help your feed feel more cohesive.

FILTERS

Now that you’ve taken your photos in the same style with your own style rules its time to make them look pretty… or prettier. There are so many filters and apps out there, its best to just play around until you find some that you like. VSCO is my favorite filter app and there are so many to purchase. You can see my favorites and how I use the app in my photography post. If a photo doesn’t fit your feed but you really want to post it, I’ll opt for a black and white photo so that aesthetically it will fit.

Below you’ll find an example of my feed with two sets of filters, one from VSCO and one using the Instagram filter in Aden that gives it a darker and creamier tone. I liked this for a week then went back to my usual feed. With my current feed, I don’t use the same filter for every photo but I switch between 4 that are really similar and I edit each photo until it matches with the ones around it. For the feed with Aden that is the second photo below, I used one filter overall for all photos.

PLAN YOUR FEED

I use VSCO or Planoly to plan my feed. I import the photos I want to post and I play around with the order of them and plan at least a few posts ahead so that I know how pictures will look next to each other. I prefer images with negative space next to a busy photo and photos of myself spaced out so these two apps help with planning the overall visual feel of my feed. This also helps to make sure that when two photos are next two each other, the colors match. So that if a cool tone photos is next to a warmer photo, you can edit one of them to look cohesive next two each other.

THEME IN BLOCKS

It isn’t always easy to keep your feed looking the same, especially with travel. My feed doesn’t do well on vacation, so when I travel I’ll change it up for 3, 6, 9 or 12 photos and have a block of one theme for travel and then go back to my usual feed when I’m home. This helps me to not feel so limited when going to a beautiful destination like when I visited Turks & Caicos.

I hope this helps with planning a cohesive instagram theme! Remember to think about the photo before you take it, give yourself style rules, find a filter that you love and plan your feed and you’ll be an instagram star in no time.

Comments

Wow! This was so heLPful! I loVe the asthetic of your IG feeD and Think the look is perfection! It is so hard for me to stick to one theme all the time, but ir really does make a huge difference. Thanks for sharing some Great tips!

Very Helpful! Given I post Images of 1) pRoducts from Subscription boxes 2) Me Using the Products I always find keeping my photos consistent a problem. The Sub Boxes have their own Colors, THemes, Looks to them

I was just browsing the web for this tip. Glad I stopped by your site!
I’m a new lifestyle blogger in Bangkok so I’m still trying to figure out how to do it all. I love the look of your feed and your content, and you’re gorgeous!

Wow! This was a wonderful post. Thank you for the help. I have definitely noticed the style of your instagram feed. It is eye-catching and it makes me want to continually browse on your page. I am trying to implement the same approach on my feed, but I have only just started though. My favorite tip was “Planning Your Feed.” I would have never that of that. It’s brilliant. thank you for being so inspiring <3

Love all the tips! This is so helpful and this whole time i always think there is an app im not using. Of course, i already have dl all the apPs, it’s justthe photo first that says it all and finding the right filter!!
Xoxo, #EMCSTRONG

Fantastic, love this! Planning my feed wasn’t something i had thought about until i read your photography post last week. my tropical travel photos are bright and colourful but i find it hard to make my feed look cohesive when i’m posting city/urban photos, especially in ireland because we have bright blue skies one minute and overcast rainy skies the next. this is definitely something i’m going to work on more 🙂 thank you for sharing all your tips!

I find it hardest when I am on vacation as well! Especially any place that is tropical. I tend to prefer muted tones and all the green/blue makes it so hard. So I agree on changing your feed for a bit for a vacation. I am always so worried about it though! So this made me feel better that you do it too haha. Great post!

OMG you’re brilliant! I’ve learned so much from your editing post and now this one! My fave tip is about using black & white for photos that don’t fit the rest of your feed. My feed is mainly white with pink and light blue…but when i want to share group pics from events i go to, Due to lighting, the pics are too warm. Am totally going to use the b&w trick – thank you for sharing!!! (@ellaprettyblog in insta)

Marianna, I love your IG because the pictures are so beautiful and cohesive!Your style is flawless! when I saw this link on your feed I had to come read your tips!Thanks for sharing all this useful info!

Marianna, I love your IG because it’s so beautiful and cohesive! Your style is flawless! When I saw your post on tips I had to visit your site to check them out. Thanks for sharing all of this great info!

thank you for sharing! i always look to your feed for inspiration, my hurdle is just thinking about what “theme” my feed should be. it’s kind of all over the place right now but hopefully taking the above into consideration i’ll be able to get it looking good in no time!http://www.lacasabloga.com

Amazing tips! If anyone is looking for an app to design the theme of your feed, check out the app called “preview”. My partner and I made it. Hopefully it will help some of you 🙂 http://bit.ly/the-preview-app

This is great information. I was looking for a theme to start working on for my client and we want to do something that is more bright and upbeat. do you have any examples of that? We like soul cycle for s start